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“But There’s No Other Possible Explanation” 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Arthur Dobrin points out that conspiracies are, in a legal context, real things; persons can be charged with and convicted of conspiracies in a court of law. He suggests that these real-life conspiracies differ wildly from the many false conspiracy theories that litter our discourse and pollute our polity.

He goes on to offer some pointers for distinguishing between the two. Here’s one; follow the link for the others.

2. Can the claim be disproved? In science, this is called the Falsification Principle. But this approach can also be applied to weighing the validity of conspiracy claims. In a court of law, the government attempts to prove the validity of its charges while the defense tries to dispute the charges. A judge or jury then decides, either by the preponderance of the evidence in a civil case or beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal suit. By contrast, no matter how many facts are presented contrary to a conspiracy theory, for example, the U.S. government complicity in the 9/11 attack, conspiracy theorists remain convinced of their “truth” and will introduce yet more speculation or convoluted explanations to maintain that “truth.”

February 7, 2022 | Posted by: Frank | Posted in: Beyond Beyond the Fringe, Culture Warriors, Political Theatre | Bookmark this post

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“But There’s No Other Possible Explanation” 0